Method and device for manufacturing spring nets for mattresses, seat cushions, and the like



June 20, 1944. H. BUTTNER 2,351,923

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR MANUFACTURING SPRING-NETS FOR MATTRESSES,SEAT-CUSHIONS, AND THE LIKE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 4, 1942 une 20,1944. BUTTNER 2,351,923

METHOD AND DEVIC OR MANUFACTURING SPRING-NETS FOR MATTRESSES,SEAT-CUSHIONS, AND THE LIKE Filed June 4, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 20,1944'; H BUTTNER 2,351,925

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR MANUFACTURING SPRING-NETS FOR MATTRESSES,SEAT-CUSHIONS, AND THE LIKE Filed June 4, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 PatentedJune 20, 1944 METHOD AND DEVICE FOR MANUFACTUR-y ING SPRING NETS FORMATTRESSES, SEAT CUSHIONS, AND THE LIKE Hugo Biittner,Wuppertal-Vohwinkel, Germany;

' vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application June 4, 1942,Serial No. 445,792 In Germany January 29,1941

6 Claims. (01. 140-3) Spring-nets for mattresses, seat-cushions and thelike have hitherto been manufactured in thatthe individual springs havebeen wound into one another by hand. This manual work is of coursecomparatively expensive.

The object of the present invention is to carry out said windingoperation mechanically, whereby the manufacture of spring-netsof thekind stated, especially double springs, can be carried out speedier andin a simpler manner.

According to invention the method adapted is that the spring to beinterwound with an adjacent spring is wound up a mandrel having asmaller diameter than the mentioned spring, over which the adjacentspring in its untensioned state is placed.

The device according to invention for carrying out this method comprisesupwardly and downwardly controlled winding mandrels protruding through acover plate. Their upper ends having recesses adapted to take the endsof the rection of the spring said recess is formed on the one hand by abolt arranged at the rim of the frontal face of the mandrel, and on theother hand by an oblique jaw likewise arranged on the rim of saidfrontal face.

The unwound piece of spring wire must be kept tensioned during thewinding operation. This is effected according to the present invenmannerthat it can recede when the winding process is completed.

When manufacturing 'a. single spring the end thereofmust be providedwith a loop, therefore, according to invention, the one knife jaw of thecutting device can be concentrically moved about the forming bolt forthe'spring loop, thus bending of" the loop and cutting-01f takes placesimultaneously.

The object of invention is shown schematically in the drawings, and showas follows:

Figs. 1-6 the method for the manufacture of a spring-net consisting ofdouble springs,

tion with the aid of stops provided laterally in front of the windingmandrels against which the unwound piece of spring wire bears.

' In order to render possible the manufacture of a double spring thereare according to this invention two winding mandrels provided andsituated remote from another by a distance correspending to the diameterof a finished spring,

vention, of a disk detachable from the cover plate and having a diametercorresponding. to the space between the winding mandrels and having uponits axle a gripper arm to. take hold of the spring wire.

In order to prevent the stop pertaining to the second winding mandrelfrom constituting an obstacle during the winding procedure it'isdesigned, according to this invention, in such a Fig. 7-14 the methodfor the manufacture of single springs, Q I

Fig. 15 is a plan view of the device,

Fig. 16 a side view of Fig. 15,,

Fig. 17 a diagrammatical representation of the winding procedure,

Fig. 18 a plan view of the parts serving to bend the loop at the end ofa single spring,

Fig. 19a finished double spring.

Fig. 20 a finished single spring.

In Figs. 1-3 and 7-10 is illustrated the manuthe second row of the netwith the first row. When manufacturing. a spring-net of double springstwo mandrels a: and'y (Figs; 1-6) are used, and when making a spring-netof single springs (Figs. 7-14) only one mandrel u is employed. Thesemandrels revolve about their longitudinal axis in a clockwise and in ananticlockwise direction, and are supported in a machine frame in whichthey can move upward and. downwardly.

In the following the method of manufacturing a spring-net according toFigs. 1-6 is described. The mandrels a: and y are firstly in theirlowermost'position, then each receives one end of the wire which hasbeen bent to resemble a hair pin and finally constitutes the doublespring I and 2; The mandrels then grip the ends and revolve in ananticlockwise direction, moving upwardly simultaneously. Coinciding withthe mandrels gripping the wire ends the loops at and b are bent andformed. By reason'of the rotation and upward motion of the mandrels thewire is helically wound upon them. Thereafter the mandrels movedownwardly and the loops a and b become disengaged from the grippingdevice whereby the springs l and 2 are untensionedso that'they assumerelatively to the mandrels a: and y the position of springs I and 2shown in- Fig. 1. That is encompassing the mandrels in an untensionedstate.

Now the spring .2- is laid around the mandrel a:

and double spring 3 and 4 is wound around the' mandrels a; and y in thesame manner as de- 6 scribed above.

Simultaneously wit h laying the spring 2 .over mandrel a: the loops aand bean be interhooked with one another.

The spring 3 which is adjacent to spring 2 and isto be interwound withit, is therefore wound around mandrel a: over which the adjacent spring2 has been placed in an untensioned state, whereby the spring 3 iscompulsory wound into spring 2.

Thereupon the spring, 4 is conveyed onto mandrel z in an untensionedstate, then the springs l5 3 and 4 are interhooked; spring 5 is thenwound around mandrela: and spring his wound around mandrel 11, wherebysprings 4 and 5 which lie adjacent to one another. are compulsoryinterwound.

The springs 3' and 5 have of course the same diameter as all othersprings, although their diameter as shown in the drawings is smaller,but

this has been done merely for the purpose of clearness. This appliesalso to all other springs 25 having a smaller diameterv and shownlocated within larger springs. v

In the above described manner it is rendered possible to produce seriesofsprings of any desired length. In order toconn'ect the springs "of thesecond row with the springs of the first row the operation proceeds asfollows! Firstly the springs 2 and 2 of the first row are placed uponthe mandrels 2c and 1! in an unten-e sioned state, whereafter the doublespring 8, I0, is wound upon said mandrels inexactly the same manner ashas been described with reference to Fig. 1 whereby the springs 2 and},or 2 and ill respectively, will-be interwound, they may then be drawnapart, compare Fig. 5.. Now spring ll must be interwound with spring II,as well as 1 with spring 4. For this purpose the springs 4 and 5 areplaced upon the mandrels :c and u in an untensioned state, furthermore,the spring 10 adjacent to spring ll likewise in-untensioned state isplaced upon mandrel a: in that this spring is drawn over in thedirection indicated by arrow 2. This can be done without any difficultysince the springs concerned can be easily shifted relatively to oneanother, as none of them are rigidly connected with any adjacentsprings, but only interwound with same. Now the springs and I2 are woundupon the III and spring I2 is wound within the'spring-l. When thesprings are then drawn apart, .the spring II will be interwound and 4and spring withuthe pring l2.

The interwinding of springs I3 and I4 is again I effected in the samemanner, that the springs 4 and 1 are placed upon the-mandrels a: and 1:in

an untension'ed state, furthermore by drawing 5 spring I2 over ontomandrel :c in the: direction indicated'by the arrow zithe springs I 3and 1 4 being then woimd around the mandrels sand 1 This workingprocedure can be continued in the manner stated until a spring-net ofthe desired 70 length and width has been manufactured. The

springs projecting at the rim, as for instance the springs I and 8 canbe inserted into the adjacent springs in order to reinforce the rimspringing,

or single springs are'woundinto the intermediandrels a: and 1! inexactly the same manner as above described, so that spring H is woundwithin the springs 4 and th the springs I! m ate spaces and connectedwith the adjacent springs or with the frame. The manufacture of aspring-net of single springs is effected in a similar, but far simplermanner, compare Figs. 7-14. In this case only one mandrel u is employedwhich however, operates in exactly the same manner, as for example themandrel a: in Figs. 1-6. Firstly the spring i is produced with the aidof said mandrel a. This spring remains on the mandrel u. 'in anuntensioned state, and into it is wound the spring I 2, whereby spring 2will be'interwound with the spring I. Then the spring 2 is placedupon'mandrel u and spring 3 is wound around this man; drel which is theninterwound with spring 2. The same takes place with a spring 4 (seeFigs. 9 and 10). In this manner it isrendered possible to produce a rowof springs having any desired lengths and interwound with each other.

In order to render, it possible to manufacture the secondrow of springsthe operation is car- 'ried out in a similar manner as described in'respect to double springs. First of all spring I is again placed {onto themandrel at (Fig) 11) then spring 5 is wound around mandrel u, that is-tosay, into spring I, whereby the springs l and I will be interwound (Fig.12). Now the spring '4 must be interwound with spring 2, as well as withspring 5. For 'this purpose, not only spring 2 is placed onto mandrel u,but also the spring i is drawn over thismandrel in the directionindicated by arrow .2. Then this spring is wound upon mandrel u, and inthis manner spring 8 ,is

interwound with the springs i and! (Fig. 13)..

has previously had spring 4 and spring I placed upon it in anuntensioned state.

Interconnecting of the loops a and b, Figs. 1-6,

'can be effected at any desired point of time. 'In

Figs. 1-3 itis eifec [d immediately after the spring concerned has beenwithdrawn from the mandrel; in- Figs. 4-6 it is eflectedin a similarmanner but one process section later, viz. after the springs of thesecond row have likewise been withdrawn from the mandrel.

The device for manufacturing the spring-net is constructed as follows:

Covering plate. ii is provided with appr priate apertures through whichthe mandrels a: and-11 pass. "(A section of each mandrel is designed aspinion 24 which engages ,with a toothed segment 28 driven bymeans-ofconnecting-rod 26 and.

crank 21 from shaft 28. The ends 24 of the winding mandrels z and y are.designed as worms "in which a guide pin 2| engages and upon which themandrels are given an upward and downward motion. 1

0n the frontal face 325 of the winding mandrels a bolt pin ll and anoblique iaw I4 arefitted which grip the end of the spring. Thebolt 23,as well as said jaw 34 are situated immediately at the rim of frontalface 22. In front-of mandrels x and v and on the covering plate 2| twostops ii and" are fitted for the wire piece that has-not yet been wound.stop I! is movplate 4|.

to the distance between winding mandrels a: anddrels a: and 1/.

Theloop I2 (Fig. 17) "not yet wound inthe able in the directionindicated by arrow 31 the stop 36 is rigidly fitted to this plate.

On the cover plate 2| and in front of the mandrels a: and y a bendingdevice is arranged consisting of a disk 38 which with its axle 39'fitted in support-bearing 40 carries a bridge-. The diameter of disk 40corresponds y. On axle 39 a cog wheel 42 is also fitted, which is drivenfrom-shaft 28 by the intermediary segment 43 and with the aid of a pairof levers 44, 45 .and an eccentric 46. The cog wheel 42 is rigidlyconnected with a lug 41 carrying a pin 43.

The disk 33 can'be raised from cover plate 2| by means of bolt 49,inthat an arm 5| of a double armed lever 5|, 52 be actuated by aneccentric on axle 28,, and bears against the axle 49. i The manner ofoperation -of this device is as follows:

Firstly the method of producing a. doublespring is to be described. Thewire to be operated is drawn from a roll and conveyed forward by meansof rollers 53 and 54, rotating in the direction of the arrowsimmediately in front of winding mandrel y. The conveying rollers aredriven by means of a pawl 55, actuated from the shaft 28 by intermediarylevers 56, 51 and crank 58, said pawl 55 engaging with the'ratchet teethprovided on the circumference of wheel 50 located on conveyer axle 59.

After the length of wire requisite for manufacture of a double springhas been fed forward it is cut off between a rigid knife Bi and amovable knife 62 actuated by lever :53 sliding in an eccentric curve 64after said piece of wire has been cut off, lug 41 is moved in thedirection indicated by arrow 65 and bolt 48 bends the wire 65 round thedisk 38 giving it a hair pin bend. When this has been effected thebending device is lifted off from the cover-plate, whereby the levers;68 and 59.

Now both winding mandrels commence to rotate in the directionindicated-by arrow 10,

whereby firstly the loops 'II are formed by means .bent wire can bepushed between the mandrels r and y by means of the, eccentric 61 andthe ofbolts 33 and jaws34. Hereby mandrels an and z -remain stationaryin theaxiab position, but with continued operation the mandrels riseupwardly through cover-plate 2 by means of worm threads 30 so that thewire piece is taken along and winds itself tightly aroundthe manwindingprocess becomes continually tighter and is held tensioned by the stops35 and 36. Shortly before completion of the winding operation the bolt35 recedes so that the wire can contract to its final shape. Duetosucceeding downward motion of the winding mandrels '2: and y the bolts33 and the jaws 34 release the loops H of the spring, whereupon thisautomatically opens and to form the finished double spring shown in Fig.5. I

If two double springs are tobe interwound Y this is effected by means ofthe device according to invention very simply in that, prior to downwardmotion of the mandrels a: and y, viz. when the. double springs stilltensioned and tightly wound around the mandrels, for example the part 12.of the double spring as in Fig. 19 is placed over the winding mandrela: or over part 13 of the tensioned spring as in Fig. 17 respectively.If the mandrels a: and y are now moved downwardly, the parts 12 and 13spring into one another and hang togetherwith their windings after beingdrawn apart.

In order to manufacture a single spring of the kind shown in Fig. 20-the mandrel a: is disengaged, whereupon the rigid knife 6| is set at adistance from the loop-winding mandrel I5 as is requisite to form theloop 14., Then a driver 15, the edge 11 of which is designed as acutting knife is moved in the direction'indicated by arrow 18,..wherebythe wire end is cut and loop 14 formed. The winding and inter-winding iseffectedin the same'manner asfor a double spring.

I claim:

' l. Inan apparatus for making coil springs, the combination of arotatable, reciprocable mandrel; means for rotating said mandrelalternately in opposite directions; means adapted to move said mandrelend-wise in one direction when it is rotated in one direction, and inthe opposite direction when it is rotated in the opposite direction; andwire engaging means adapted to grip the wire on one end of the mandrelso that the wire is wound on the mandrel when the mandrel is rotated inone direction, and to release the wire when the mandrel is rotated inthe opposite direction.

2. In an apparatus for making coil springs, the combination of ahorizontal plate having a pair of apertures; a pairof mandrels rotatable.to form two tensioned coils, and the bight of the piece forms aconnection at the bottom thereof, said clamps being adapted when themandrels rotate clockwise and descend to release, the coils fromtension, the coils being detached from the mandrels, and supported onthe plate through which the mandrels descend.

, 3. In an apparatus for making coil springs, the

. combination of a frame; a horizontal plate supported on said frame andhaving an aperture; a mandrel journaled in said frame and provided witha pinion and a helical groove; a segmental rack pivoted in said frameand meshing with said pinion; means for rocking said rack; a pin fixedon said frame and received in said groove, the rack and, pinion, and thepin and groove co-acting so that, when the rack is rocked in onedirection, the mandrel is rotated and.

caused to move upwardly through the aperture, and, when the rack isrocked in the opposite direc-' tion, the mandrel is rotated in -theopposite direction and caused to move downwardly, until its upper end isflush with'the top surface of said plate; a post mounted on the upperend of the mandrel and projecting above the top surface of the platewhen the mandrel is in its extreme downward position; and a jaw on theend of the mandrel, co-acting with said post to form a clamp, so thatwhen one end of a piece of wire laid upon the plate is inserted betweenthe post and the jaw itis gripped thereby, the groove having suchconfiguration that when the mandrel t is rotated in the direction tocause it to niove ing said rack; a pair of pins fixed on said frameupwardly it makes a halt 'revolution before its upward movement begins,whereby the end oithe wire is looped around ,the post, the clamp beingadapted to cause the wire to be woundunder tension about the mandrel, toform a coil spring duringtheupward movement or the man.- drel, and tocause the looped end of the wire to be disengaged, and the coil springto be relieved from tension, released from the mandrel and to rest uponthe plate about the aperture during the downward movement oi themandrel.

4. In an apparatus for making coil springs, the combination of a frame;a horizontal plate supported on said frame and having a pair oiapertures; a pairof mandrels Journaled in said frame, each beingprovided .with a pinion and a helical groove; a segmental rack pivotedin said frame .and meshing with said pinions; means for rockand receivedin said grooves, respectively, the rack and pinions, and the pins andgrooves co-acting so that, when the rack is rocked in one direction,both mandrels are rotated in the same direction and caused to moveupwardly through the apertu'res; respectively, and, when the rack is'rocked v in the opposite direction, both mandrels are rotated-in theopposite direction and caused to move downwardly, until their upper endsare flush with the top surface of said plate; a post on the upper end ofeach mandrel and projecting above the top surface of the plate when themandrel isin its extreme downward position; a Jaw on the end of eachmandrel toeform a clamp, co-acting with the post on its mandrel, so thatwhen the ends of a pieceof wire laid upon the plate are inserted betweenthe posts and jaws of the mandrels, respectively, they are grippedthereby, thev grooves having such configuration that when themandrels-are rotated. in the direction to cause them to move upwardly,they make a half revolution before their upward move? spring during theupward movement of the mandrels; a post fixed on said plate adjacent oneof said mandrels; .and a second post movably mounted on said plateadjacent the other mandrel, the posts on the plate being adapted totension the 'wire being wound on the mandrels. the movable post beingdisplaced at the end of the upward movement or the mandrels therebyallowing the wire to form the final windings about the mandrels, saidclamps being also adapted to cause the looped ends of the wire to bedisengaged from the mandrels, and the wound portions to be there- 5. Themethod oi producing spring-nets formattresses; seat cushions andthelike, which consists in winding a length of wire about a mandrel,

thereby producing a tensioned'coil spring, reliev- 20 ing the spring oftension by releasing it from the mandrel,- winding a second length ofwire about relieving the spring of tension by releasing it from themandrel, winding a second length of wire about the mandrel,whilesurrounding the mandrel with the former untensioned spring, so

that the two springs are interwound, and continuing the process until asufllcient number of inter wound springshas been produced to form arowof the desired length, repeating the process to produce a secondrowoi-in'terwound springs, each a spring 01 the second rowbeinginterwound with its acent spring in'the first row, and continumentbegins, whereby theends of. the wire piece in! P until the desirednumber of 5 produced.

terwound rows of interwound springs has been nii'rmm

